


Retirement don't come easy (it's true)

by Wonderlandgirl



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Crime Fighting, M/M, Old Age, Old Married Couple, Retirement, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:09:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27206402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wonderlandgirl/pseuds/Wonderlandgirl
Summary: Tony couldn’t walk very well anymore. Too many years of heroing in a metal suit, kneeling on concrete floors during engineering binges to access inaccessible pieces of tech, as well as age, had done irreparable damage to his legs and back.When Superheroes have to retire (begrudgingly) , they have to find another outlet for their crime fighting tendencies.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 24
Kudos: 56





	Retirement don't come easy (it's true)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BladeoftheNebula](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BladeoftheNebula/gifts).



> This is a birthday gift for BladeoftheNebula - HAPPY BIRTHDAY <3

Tony couldn’t walk very well anymore. Too many years of heroing in a metal suit, kneeling on concrete floors during engineering binges to access inaccessible pieces of tech, as well as age, had done irreparable damage to his legs and back. 

He had gone through so many different medical treatments, consulted the best doctors around, but there was still no treatment against old age.

He has accepted the cane with bad grace, but at least the cane still had a certain amount of debonair grace that complimented his outfits. Custom canes with Iron Man helmet toppers went with everything after all. But time keeps marching on. Eventually, the cane was only hampering his ability to walk, getting in his way and tripping him up.

The day that he had finally caved to the pressure from his doctors, Pepper, Steve and everyone else in his life, to get and use a motorised scooter was a Bad Day. But Tony being Tony had taken the basic design of the scooter and had made it his own. He was lucky that his hands still worked, still steady as a rock. He made it as much like Iron Man as he could (You could take the man out of the suit, but you couldn’t take the suit out of the man). He had included the face plate, and had made it run on arc reactor/repulsor technology. Everyone had vetoed him making it fly (The spoilsports), but it could still move pretty swiftly. The biggest change was the standing passenger area at the back. Steve often stood there and rode around with Tony so they could spend more time together. This meant Steve didn’t have to try and catch up with Tony when he decided to zoom around. Too many years of going fast had left an impression on Tony, and he wasn’t going to go slow now if he had anything to say about it. Tony had also made a miniature Dum-e which he kept in the basket on the front, which was connected to Dum-e proper so that he could feel like he was going on adventures as well. 

Steve had also retired from heroing… begrudgingly, though he still wore the shield around if they went out sometimes. Old habits die hard after all, and the current Captain America had a much more technically advanced shield, so Steve was able to get his beloved shield back. 

Thanks to the serum, Steve’s body wasn’t in as bad a shape as Tony’s, but he still hadn’t been kind to his body over the years. He wasn’t able to go out on missions or do field work anymore. 

His balance wasn’t what it once was, and _no-one_ would ever know about that time that he fell on his back with the shield on, and got stuck like a turtle until he could unbuckle the harness!

Both of them were struggling with the lack of viable outlets for their do-gooder tendencies. There were only so many galas and glad-handing they were willing to do, and they donated a lot to charities. They missed being hands-on, as it were. 

One day while they were riding along the street near the tower, Steve spotted a thief snatching a woman's purse. “Did you see that Tony? That guy just stole that woman’s purse!” 

“After them” he called, his old Captain voice coming through, pointing in the direction that he had run, and Tony gunned the engine and took off. Once they had caught up with the thief, Steve leapt off and tackled him. For all that Steve couldn’t take on mercenaries or aliens anymore, one unarmed pickpocket wasn’t much of a challenge, especially one who wasn’t expecting to be tackled. 

Steve sat on the thief to prevent escape, while he waited for the police to arrive. Mini Dum-e was a fully functioning AI and had already called them, so they were only minutes out. 

Once their statements had been taken, and the crook had been carted off to the station, Tony looked at his husband. There was a flush on his cheek and a twinkle in his eye. Tony knew the same look was probably on his face as well. This could be just the outlet they needed. They didn’t even need to discuss it, they both knew that they would be doing this again. The surge of adrenalin in crime fighting was something they both hadn’t felt in too long, and both missed dreadfully. 

So that is the story of how Iron Man _Ret._ and Captain America _Ret._ came to patrol the shopping districts and streets near wherever they were when they weren’t busy. They would keep their eyes out for ne'er do-wells. If they spotted someone, and Steve was walking next to Tony he would jump on the back, and off they would go in hot pursuit.

While the police and other Old Avengers didn’t actively encourage this mild vigilantism, they definitely understood the impulse to help, and to keep going in the crime fighting field. 

_The amazing Thirstinart had done some Oldvengers artwork which can be found_ [here](https://thirstinart.tumblr.com/post/626633890787983360/oldvengers-doodles-this-makes-absolutely-no-sense):   


**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by the wonderful people at the POTS discord server.
> 
> Thank you to Starksnack for beta reading!
> 
> Saw this on Tumblr and I think it's a lovely idea--feel free to copy and paste into your own fics!!  
> Emoji Key for those who don't know what to say in the comments!  
> ❤ = you wish you could kudos again  
> 😭 = I got you right in the feels  
> 🔥 = this was so hot!  
> 🐰 = it’s so fluffy


End file.
